REVIEW:
Wisely, Capcom didn't stop with just one
"enhancement" to the arcade phenomenon known as Street
Fighter 2. Seeing as both Street Fighter 2 and SF2: Champion
Edition were massive hits
at the arcade scene and on consoles, of course Capcom gave fans more of what
they wanted. After the release of Champion Edition, unauthorized hacks
of SF2 were popping up in some arcades, enabling faster gameplay and
additional special moves. In response, Capcom released Street Fighter 2:
Turbo
or "Hyper Fighting", which increased the gameplay speed
greatly. The console versions also included a speed setting which slightly
altered the intensity of the speed increase.
A familiar cast by now...
but what's this? New colors!?!? :D
The main changes
from Champion Edition to Hyper Fighting include: New (and
better looking) character artwork on the character selection screen, the ability to select one new color
(in addition to the SF2: CE color) per character, re-colored backgrounds/stages, and of course... a noticeable
enhancement to the overall speed of the gameplay, which only intensified the classic mind games that the two previous
Street Fighter titles
became known for. Additionally, all characters (with the exception of Guile,
Balrog, Vega, Sagat & M. Bison) received at least 1 new special move.
No, Street
Fighter 2: Turbo didn't reinvent the wheel... why would they do such a
thing in the first place? It's easy for a casual onlooker to say "not much has changed" in the world of Street Fighter 2, but
common sense says "if it
ain't broke... don't fix it."
Street Fighter 2: Turbo was no doubt a must- have/must- play for any fighting
game fan at the time, and was one of the best and most competitive fighting game experiences
possible in 1992/1993.
Try not to get
Guile's theme music stuck in your head.... (won't work).
Thefirst console port of Hyper Fighting
came out on SNES, titled Street Fighter II Turbo. The highly-acclaimed
SNES port also contained a port of the prequel, Champion Edition
in the form of "Normal" mode. The SNES version's "play
speed" setting can be adjusted between 4 different speeds by default, with
a cheat code enabling up to 6 faster setting. Other secret codes enable players
to disable/enable specific Special Moves in VS Mode, in addition to play through
1-player mode with Special Moves disabled.
The Sega Genesis/MegaDrive
version of Hyper Fighting was called Street Fighter II' Plus: Champion
Edition in Japan and Street Fighter II': Special Champion Edition in
North America and Europe. The Genesis version was originally planned to be a
straight port of Champion Edition. However, the game was delayed in order
to make the graphics more competitive with the SNES and PC versions. Content
from the SNES version of Turbo was also added, resulting in the name
changes to II' Plus and Special Champion Edition.
Special Champion Edition
features "Champion" mode and "Hyper" mode, similar to the
Normal and Turbo modes found in the SNES Turbo version. This version was
also the first console version of a Street Fighter II to feature the
original opening sequence (with two generic martial artists fighting in from of
an audience). "Hyper" mode includes the 10-stars speed setting by
default, which was only accessible in the SNES version through a cheat code. A
secret code to adjust the speed setting in "Champion" mode was added
as well. Special Champion Edition was also the only home version at the
time of its release to feature "simultaneous button cancels".
Page Updated:
August
7th, 2016
Developer(s):
Capcom
Publisher(s):
Capcom
Designer(s):
Akira
Nishitani & Akira Yasuda (Akiman)
Artwork
by:
Bengus
(CRMK), Akiman, Kinu Nishimura
Platform(s):
Arcade, Super
Nintendo, Sega MegaDrive, Sega Genesis, XBLA, Wii Virtual Console, Wii U eShop
Release Date(s):
Dec.
1992
(
Arcade)
July 11th, 1993
(
SNES)
August 1993
(/
SNES)
Sept. 28th, 1993
(
Megadrive/Genesis as SFII' Plus: CE)
October 1993
(/
Megadrive/Genesis as SFII: Special CE)
June 25th, 2007
(
Wii VC)
Aug. 22nd, 2013
(Wii U eShop)
Did you really think Capcom would quit with Street Fighter
2
Champion Edition? Capcom knew they had a gem, and they ran with it... no
doubt a smart move. There's also no doubt that many fighting game fans
(including myself) were naturally excited and overjoyed by this "shiny new"
Turbo / Hyper Fighting update. Thanks to this memorable updated version,
SF2 remained
as one of the top arcade and console fighting games of the early 90's.
Also worth mentioning... the unique character artwork for SF2: Turbo
(below) was
particularly memorable, known for its sharp black lines and killer foreshortening. If you read any gaming magazines
in the early 90's or picked up one of the official SF2 strategy guides,I
know you know what I'm talking about.
As a kid who loved to draw in the early 90's, I remember loving to just gaze at
the artwork of SF2: Turbo (in addition to other installments). I still have quite a few Street Fighter sketches
I did back in '92-'93.
In closing, SF2 Turbo was an important step in the series history,
showcasing new visual effects and artwork. The slight adjustment in gameplay
also proved the "longevity" of Street Fighter 2's gameplay,
proving that the game didn't have to change much to keep players coming back. ~TFG
Webmaster
Street Fighter 2: Turbo was no doubt a must- have/must- play for any fighting
game fan at the time, and was one of the best and most competitive fighting game experiences
possible in 1992/1993. 
Arcade) 
/
SNES)
Megadrive/Genesis as SFII: Special CE) 
